Donavon Warren
Donavon Warren is an American Actor, Producer, Writer and Director most notably known for his role in Wheels. ABOUT WHEELS Donavon Warren is the founder and CEO of the production company Loaded Dice Films. He’s also an actor, screenwriter, director and producer. (Are you exhausted yet? Just wait a minute.) The guy doesn't stop, and all of the hard work and sacrifices he's made over the years have come down to the next three months of his life—the final stretch before the theatrical release of his film Wheels. Wheels is a dark-humored film about the power of friendship and human frailty. In the movie, Mickey (played by Donavon Warren), is having a hard time killing himself. In an effort to finally end his life, he offers a hilarious, wild-eyed junkie named Drake (played by Patrick Hume) $500 to shoot him in the head. Things take a turn, however, and the men end up hustling through the streets in search of belonging and reasons to live. Donavon started writing the screenplay when he was 20 years old, shortly after he moved to Los Angeles. Well, within the first couple of years of moving here. (He lived out of his car for the first eight months.) Imagine being fresh out of high school in Albuquerque, New Mexico and moving to Hollywood to be an actor. It sounds like a biopic, but it’s not. It’s Donavon’s actual story. Donavon as Mickey in wheels. With such a rough Hollywood beginning, you’d think he’d do whatever he could to stay financially stable. Of course, he didn’t. He was willing to do whatever it took to make his creation. When he was younger, he used to say he’d rob a bank. Luckily, as time went on, his circumstances changed and no banks were robbed. “I hit 30 and was like, I have to make this film,” he said. Unfortunately, even a more secure 30 year old Donavon didn't have the financial resources to make a movie of this quality. Donavon brought Tim Gagliardo on board to be Co-Director. The two sold everything they had. Donavon even underwent medical testing to make the film. “With how ambitious project was, it really had to be life or death,” he said. “I believe the universe provides. It was fucking hard at times. Other times it was great. Tons of people supported this project and donated their time. We’re grateful.” Sacrifices continued Would you give up your apartment so you could use your deposit on the film you were working on? Tim did. The guys even landscaped the front of a larger production studio for time to shoot. The struggles of making the film weren’t limited to financial resources, however. They also shot the movie on the fly, a fact that seems damn-near impossible. After all, the movie covers 83 sets and 57 locations in the Los Angeles area. “It’s a guerrilla production. We didn’t have permits. We didn’t rent any buildings,” Donavon said. “We put so much into it but were always a breath away from getting it shutdown. It was a constant threat.” The film was so guerrilla that cops approached “Drake” during a scene in Downtown LA. “The cops come up to him and they’re like: 'Hey what are you doing, huh? How are you doing buddy?’ They walk right by the fucking crew and up to him,” said Donavon. “I was thinking, ‘Oh shit, we’re going to get shutdown. We don’t have permits.' But they were narcotics cops. When they realized what was going on, all they did was tell us that Drake looks like a real junkie.” Today, Donavon is back to the grind with a new kind of crew: a marketing team. He needs to get the word out so the film can score distribution and a wider theatrical release. "My goal as a filmmaker is just to put it out there," he said."My vision for the film...well, it was almost my personal thing...dealing with suicide and depression and loss...loneliness. Loneliness is a big thing for me. I feel lonely all the time." "I'm surrounded by people and I'm by myself. I can't shake it... So my whole thing was let me create a character that is going through all those things and magnify it and see what happens. I just hope people are touched the film and maybe look at things a little differently." Wheels is scheduled for release in September of this year. To help bring it to more theaters and score distribution, people are encouraged to support the project on social media and visit their website. https://www.lauren-julia.com/